Mariupol: Concerns grew on Wednesday for the welfare of more than 250 Ukraine fighters who surrendered to Russian troops in Azovstal Steelworks in Mariupol after weeks of despair.The surrender ended the most powerful siege in the Russian War in Ukraine and allowed President Vladimir Putin to claim a rare victory in his shaky campaign, which according to many military analysts stopped.
The bus left a steel work on Monday night at a convoy escorted by Russian armored vehicles. Five arrived in the city of Novoazovsk controlled by Russia, where Moscow said the injured fighters would be treated.Seven buses carrying Ukraine fighters from Garrison Azovstal arrived at a prison that had just reopened in the city of Openivka controlled by Russia near Donetsk, a witness Reuters said.
Russia said at least 256 Ukraine fighters had “put their hands and surrendered”, including 51 who were seriously injured. Ukraine said 264 soldiers, including 53 injured, had gone.The Russian Defense Ministry video shows the fighters left the factory, some carrying stretchers, others by hand to be sought by Russian troops.There are some women above at least one bus on Openivka, Reuters video shows.
While both parties talked about an agreement in which all Ukraine soldiers would leave steel work, many details were not yet common, including how many fighters were still inside, and whether the form of an agreed prisoner exchange.Kremlin said Putin personally guaranteed prisoners would be treated in accordance with international standards, and Ukraine officials said they could be exchanged for Russian prisoners.Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk said Kyiv aimed to regulate the exchange of prisoners for those injured after their conditions were stable.
Russian Deputy Ambassador to Dmitry Polyansky PBB said there was no agreement, Tweeting: “I don’t know English has many ways to express one message: #Azovnazis has surrendered unconditionally.”The TASS news agency reported that a Russian committee plans to question the soldiers, many of them are members of the Azov battalion, as part of an investigation of what Moscow called the “Ukraine regime’s crime”.
The famous Russian Parliament member spoke against any prisoner exchange. Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairperson of the Duma State, Russian Low Council, said: “Nazi criminals should not be exchanged.”Parliament member Leonid Slutsky, one of the Russian negotiators in talks with Ukraine, said the fighters evacuated “animals in human form” and say they must be executed.Formed in 2014 as an extreme right-wing volition to fight the Russian separatist, the Azov Regiment denies being fascist or neo-Nazi. Ukraine said it had been reformed and integrated into national bodyguards.
Natalia, the wife of a sailor among those who hid in the factory, told Reuters that he hoped “there will be an honest exchange”. But he is still worried: “What Russia is doing now is inhumane.”The battlestation for Mariupol, who came to symbolize the resistance of Ukraine, was Russia’s biggest victory since launching what he called “special military operations” to “deny” the state on February 24. This provides Moscow’s control over the Azov Azov Sea of Pantai and the uninterrupted expanse of Ukraine Ukraine. The port is located in the ruins, and Ukraine believes that tens of thousands of people were killed under months.
In the diplomatic front, US President Joe Biden will host Swedish and Finland leaders in the White House on Thursday to discuss their NATO applications, the White House said. Nordic countries are optimistic that they can overcome objections from Turkey over the connection of the 30 State Alliance.Russian offensive in the East, meanwhile, seems to make a little progress, although Kremlin said all its goals will be achieved.
